Machine for bleaching flax



2 SheetsSheet 1;

J. A. ROTHX: J. LEA.-

MACHINE FOR BLEAGHING FLAX.

' No. 10,780. Patented Apr. 18, 1854.

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2 Sheets Sheet 2.

J. A. ROTH & J. LEA. MACHINE FOR BLEAGHING FLAX.

Patented Apr. 18. 854.

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UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

J. A. ROTH AND J. LEA, OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR BLEAGHING FLAX.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,780, dated April 18, 1854.

To all whom it may concern:

Be-it known that we, J. AUGUSTUS ROTH,

of the county of Philadelphia and State of then exposing Pennsylvania, and JOSEPH LEA, of the same county and State, have discovered a new and useful Mechanical Arrangement for Treating Flax Fiber or Yarn; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, which drawings are hereinafter fully described.

In the manufacture of flax or yarn it has been heretofore customary to bleach the yarn in the Woven or manufactured state by boiling the fabric in alkaline solutions and it successively and for considerable lengths of time to the action of the atmosphere while extended on the grass. This process of bleaching linen goods has been hitherto deemed essential, and been commonly used in the manufacture of flaxen or linen fabrics, and requires numerous boilings and repeated washings and handlings and a largearea of field or meadow land on which the fabrics may be spread.

Our improvement consists in a mechanical arrangement and process or mode for treating the flax or yarn before it is spun, whereby the flax or yarn fiber may be prepared and bleached while in that state with great economy of time and labor.

In applying our improved mechanical'arrangement and process, we use the flax or yarn either in the state in which it generally comes to the manufacturer to be spun or in the conditionof unrotted fiber, from which the woody parts are first mechanically removed; and we proceed to describe in detail our improved apparatus and the manner or process of using the same so as to enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention.

greatter portion of the solution absorbed y 1-.

Plate I, Figure 1, represents the frame and combs forming the first partof our improvement, being a perspective view of the entire frame. Fig. 1, Plate II, is a longitudinal vertical section of the same and Fig. 6, Plate III, a perspective view of the lower portion of the same frame with the flax or yarn attached. Fig. 2, Plate II, is a transverse vertical section of the same frame. Fig. 1, Plate III, is an enlarged view of one of the combs D, of Fig. 2, Plate II, and Figs. 3 and 4, Plate III, represent a still further enlargement of the several parts of the combs D of Fig. 2, Plate II.

We construct the first part of our apparatus in the following manner:

G C C C (Fig. 1, Plate 1) represents a rectangular metal frame-from the oppo- 'site sides of which C C and C 0,

standards S, S, S, S, extend vertically downward. These standards extending from one side C, C, are shown in Fig. 1, Plate II. Similar standards extend from C" C. Between each pair of opposite standards, a series of combs D D are placed transversely across, wit-h the teeth pointing upward, as 1s shown in Fig. 1, Plate I, and especially in Fig. 2, Plate II, where 'S S represent a pair of standards and D D D a series of trans verse combs. These combs are made of brass, copper or hard wood, and are shaped like an ordinary straight hair comb. A single combis shown in an enlarged view at Fig. 1, Plate III.

6 represents the back of the comb.

t, t, t, t are a series of metallic or wooden teeth, Upon these teeth the rotted or unrotted flax or yarn is to be suspended by being bent over at its middle so as to hang with its fibers parallel, straight, and vertical or nearly so. In front of these teeth a strip (Z, d, is placed working upon a hinge h, so as to open and close against the extremities of the teeth, and thus keep the flax or yarn on site standards, S. Into these slots the projections on the end of the comb fit; and on the standard opposite to the slot m a sprmg k is placed, which forces the projectlons of the comb into the slot, and thus each comb is retained in its place. By pressing down the spring, the comb can be readily removed. These combs are placed one above the other at the distance apart of from 2 to 4: inches.

Having thus described the construction of the frameand combs, by which the flax or yarn is supported, we now proceed to describe the manner inwhich the flax or yarn is to be attached thereto. Each comb is taken from the standards S, S and the strip at, (Z, upon each comb is opened upon its hinge at it, and the flax or yarn being bent at its middle, is suspended by the loop thus formed upon the teeth of the comb so that the ends of the flax fiber shall hang down nearly vertical and straight on each side of the teeth. When the combs are thus filled they are replaced in the frame, and the frame and flax or yarn then present the appearance exhibited in Fig. 6, Plate III. The frame is suspended by a hook m, to a long cord immediately over the vat, which forms the second part of our improvement. See Figsl and 2, Plate I. The cord is attached above to a hoisting apparatus so that the Whole frame can be lowered or raised at pleasure. The object of this first part of our improvement is to obtain a mode of sustaining rotted or unrotted flax or yarn in large quantities so that its fiber may be properly exposed to the action of certain chemical solutions hereafter mentioned without entang ling or breaking said fiber. The combs and frame above described have been found by us to attain that end.

The second part of our improvement relates to the construction of the vat into which the flax or yarn when suspended on the combs of the frame is to be immersed. Fig. 2, Plate I, and Fig. 7, Plate III, are perspective views of the vat. Fig. 7, Plate II, is a horizontal top view showing the arrangement of movable squeeze rollers upon the top of the said vat. Fig. 6, Plate II, is a transverse vertical section of the vat. Figs. 3 and 4:, Plate II, are longitudinal vertical sections. Fig. 5, Plate II, is an enlarged view of the apparatus for opening and closing the squeeze rollers. This vat is a rectangular trough or box, a little larger in its horizontal section than the corresponding section of the flax or yarn frame above clescribed. It is made of wood and lined with lead or copper so as to be water tight; it is of sufficient depth to allow all the combs of the flax or yarn frame to descend into it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, Plate I. At the top or rim of this vat there are two iron sliding frames (shown at Fig. 3, Plate IV) will diverge.

compose one frame, and the rods R and R and the cross piece R compose the other frame. On the extremities of the rods L and L opposite to the cross piece, sockets T and T are formed; through these sockets, the frame RR R slides; on the extremity of rods It and R similar slots are formed, through which the frame L L L slides. Thus the frames can mutually slide upon each other. To each of these sliding frames a series of'transverse rollers is attached so that when the frames are slid toframe will constitute a series of pairs of squeeze rollers; and when the two frames are slid apart each pair of equeeze rollers These rollers turn in small journals placed on their respective frames they are made of brass, are about one or one and a half inches in diameter, and of sufficient length to extend across the sliding frames. The distance between the pairs of rollers, is made to correspond with the distance between the standards of the flax or" yarn frame. These sliding frames with the movable squeeze rollers attached are placed on top of the vat as shown in perspective at Fig. 7 Plate III, and in horizontal top section at Fig. 7, Plate II; and in longitudinal vertical section at Figs. 3 and 4, Plate II. In order conveniently to slide these frames out and in and thus open or shut the squeeze rollers, a chain Y is fastened to the cross piece of each sliding frame; each chain passes over a pulley at its end of the vat and is connected to a weight WV. The operations of these weights is to draw each sliding frame in toward the vat, and thus close the series of squeeze rollers. These frames are slid apart (so as to open the squeeze rollers) by means of a pinion wheel G (Plate I, Fig. 2) worked by a lever or treadle H, (same figure). This pinion wheel G is geared into a straight piece of rack work V placed on the under side of one of the sliding frames above mentioned and a similar piece of cog gearing or rack J placed on the upper side of an iron loop connected with the other sliding frame as is fully shown in Fig. 5, Plate II. The cog wheel G fits into and operates at the same time both the racks V and J. The cog wheel is rotated by the prolonged arm and the treadle H. The effect of the depression of the treadle is to rotate the cog wheel G and thus to separate the squeeze rollers of each pair. The treadle I-I fits into a rack or ratchet 4), so that the sliding frames and the rollers can be retained in any desired position. An enlarged View of the cog gearing and treadle is shown at Fig. 5, Plate II; and a transverse section of the vat, sliding frames, and cog gearing is shown at Fig. 6, Plate II.

In preparing and bleaching rotted or unrotted flax or yarn, we make use of 7 vats gether the corresponding rollers onceach V each constructed and arranged like vat B. One of these vats contains an alkaline lye which is kept boiling by the admission of steam at the bottom of the vat; the second vat contains clean water, kept clean by constant circulation; the third vat contains dilute sulfuric acid; the fourth vat contains chlorid of lime in solution, the fifth vat contains dilute sulfuric acid; the sixth vat contains a solution which we call antichlorin; the mode of preparing which is fully described in the specification of a patent granted to J. Augustus Roth, October 4, 1853. The seventh vat contains water, which may be kept warm.

Having described the vat and its arrangement of squeeze rollers, we now describe its mode of operation. The flax or yarn frame with the flax or yarn attached having been suspended over the vat as before described, the treadle is depressed so as to separate the squeeze rollers-the flax or yarn frame is then caused to descend by the hoisting apparatus so that the combs shall pass down between the squeeze rollers as shown at Plate I until the flax or yarn is entirely immersed. The frame is then kept moving up and down in the vat in order that the flax or yarn may be brought into more intimate contact with the solution in the vat and so that the solution may be made to act thoroughly on every part of the fiber. All this time the squeeze rollers are kept separate. When the fiber has been suificiently acted upon the frame is entirely withdrawn. As the frame is drawn out, the treadle is released from the rack and the squeeze rollers being forced together by the weights W the flax or yarn is deprived of the greater part of the solution which it had absorbed. The flax or yarn frame having been thus withdrawn from the vat B filled with the first of the solutions above specified, is transferred to a second vat precisely like the first, but filled with the clean water as above specified. It here undergoes the same alternate raising and lowering motion and the same final squeezing and is in turn transferred to the third vat and so on.

Although our improvements above described are intended chiefly for preparing and bleaching the rotted or unrotted flax or yarn fibers yet it is obvious they can also be used for dyeing the fibers of any sort, the dyeing solutions in that case being substituted for the bleaching and chemical solutions.

Having thus described our improvements, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The employment of a series of combs for the purpose of sustaining the fibers constructed and arranged in the manner substantially as is herein described.

2. The flax or yarn frame and method of arranging the combs in combination therewith, substantially as hereinbefore described.

33. The combination of flax or yarn frame and vat substantially as hereinbefore described.

J. AUGUSTUS ROTH. J OS. LEA. Witnesses:

JNo. EYRE SHAW, CHARLES D. FREEMAN. 

